


The Unshakable Queen, Her Broken Mind, And a Heart Long Since Castaway

by RavenReyesStan



Category: The 100 (TV), The Land of Stories Series - Chris Colfer
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-24 14:35:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30073740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenReyesStan/pseuds/RavenReyesStan
Summary: Octavia kom Wonkru has had a rough week. Well more like a rough past six years, but who's counting? Prettyu soon though she finds the solace she's been looking for and she gets dragged into a fairytale, literally!A land of stories and the 100 crossover that no one wanted but you got anyways!Written for  Troped: Madness 2, round 1!
Comments: 3
Kudos: 3
Collections: TROPED: Madness 2.0





	The Unshakable Queen, Her Broken Mind, And a Heart Long Since Castaway

Somehow, even after everything she’d had to do over the past six years, this day was managing to rank into the ten worst. Her brother had come back from the dead, her people were growing restless, there were people who might as well have been aliens casually taking over the last survivable land on Earth, there was now a natblida who could challenge her place at any moment. It was easy to say, Octavia Blake, Osleya of the final conclave, Bloodreina, and queen of Wonkru, wanted nothing more than to be back in her room, nice and warm under the blankets, face down in her pillow. Not asleep, of course, the naive notion of sleep being anything but a necessary torture had long since abandoned her, but this was nice. Being able to hide from the world of blood, terror, and loss she’d made was almost comforting, lest for the voice in the back of her head that refused to fuck off.

Unfortunately for Octavia, everyone seemed to be panicking around both her office and room so she decided to take to the ruins of the once dazzling Polis instead. While they weren’t nearly as familiar as the bunker, there was a different kind of peace she felt. She walked across land and through buildings that she had not yet tainted. The memories they held of her were of Skairipa, and while it was bitter to think of what she had lost and who’d she’d become, it was also a relief to escape. To be alone for once, and to breathe real air.

It had been much too long, and while the dusty air burned her lungs, she could almost imagine the radiation still linger around, it was real. That was what mattered; reality, truth. She’d take a harsh reality over sweet lies anytime, but even as she thought that she couldn’t help the whisper of the name that crashed through her mind. Octavia quickly shut it down, picturing herself cutting through the name, no, she could never think of that again. Never be so weak again. She was Bloodreina, ruthless and cold and calculating but above all else: she was strong. She was the queen and no one could get in her way.

“What?” She snapped, quickly jumping to her feet from where she’d unconsciously been kneeling. Octavia swept her eyes around the room, it was unlike her to get distracted so easily and it was all because of the plague that was him, was six years not enough to move on? 

_ ‘No. Never would be.’  _ she thought.  _ “Shut up,”  _ she thought, just a little bit harsher

Octavia felt the little piece of her soul that was left wither away with pain every time she pushed away from the thoughts of Lincoln, but she could afford not the luxury of the past for the pain of it was too bitter when combined with the pains of today and tomorrow.

“I could hear you thinking from a thousand miles away, what do you want Cooper?” She said, her tone light but demanding as she waltzed over to the half-destroy doorway, yanking it open to face her second in command. If it weren’t for the fact that she’d long since forbid herself from it, Octavia would almost say she was fond of the flustered, genius, mess that was Kara Cooper. Almost. But… people liking you simply because they feared you got wearing quickly.

Kara cleared her throat a little nervously before launching into an explanation, “And so I think the best path would be to make an example of him, but of course, you might face retaliation especially with the unrest-” 

Octavia silenced her with a dismissive wave of her hand, heaving a heavy sigh as she adjusted how her cloak rested on her shoulders. Would it really be so wrong of her to just kill everyone before she had to deal with another headache?

_ “Yes,” the pesky little voice rang out again.  _

She hesitated for a minute, wondering if the reminiscent of a different person was enough to change- no, enough to fix her. She didn’t have time for “if” however, there were eight-hundred people who she needed to attend to. With that thought, Octavia briskly turned on her heel, marching straight past Cooper.

~~~~~

Here she was again. Octavia wasn’t quite sure what it was about this place, it was almost like it called to her, but whatever the reason, the dusty debris and remains of what seemed to be a house or perhaps a store that sold trinkets, everyday tools, and the such, had quickly become her retreat over the past few days. If it weren’t for Cooper and perhaps the need to eat, she might never have left the place. It may seem a little silly to prefer the dust and grime and ruin over the  adjective  bunker but within it, she’d found what might just be her favorite thing on the ground so far! 

_ “But Linc-” _

_ “NO” _

In between dwelling on her thoughts and cursing the world for its injustice, Octavia had decided to try and clear up a little. It had been a while since she’d done any real manual labor so it was nice in a way, the monotonicity of the act both incredibly familiar and yet she couldn’t help but feel that was another person. Still, as she shuffled through the rubble of the caved-in roof she found a sense of calm. By some miracle, she’d found a fully intact metal chest in the midst of the mess, and she could barely believe her eyes after she’d finally succeeded in her wrestling against the rusted clasp of the box. Tucked away and left to rot for the past 6 years was a total of around thirty books. That was more than she’d seen, well ever. Of course, they had books on the ark but those didn’t really count, seeing as the majority were digital and the few that were around not were for the rich, and she hadn’t counted as a person on the ark, most definitely not as a rich one. 

Back to the point, the books had quickly become her favorite things. If you were to think of them for what they were, merely ink on paper that was bound together, it was fairly underwhelming, but what they did? What they contained? It was the closest thing there was to magic, at least in Octavia’s opinion. Her favorite out of the collection, she’d quickly found, was a book with an emerald green cover, the looping golden letters on the front shining up at her;  “The Land of Stories” . In it was a collection of more fairytales than she could count, ever since she was a little kid Octavia’s favorite moments were those filled by Bellamy telling her stories, and while she apparently had managed to turn in a bloodthirsty monster, the past six years had yet to strip her of her love for stories. Naturally, she’d already wasted a few nights paging through the book, completely consumed by the words and the colorful illustrations. The drawings were unlike anything she’d ever seen before. How ironic that the book lived through two nuclear apocalypses and still managed to be so bright and vibrant, they were so realistic she almost felt like she could reach through and hop right into the story.

Then one day, she did.

~~~~~~

This was it. She was dead. The great Bloodreina was dead and it was probably because she’d fallen and bumped her head or an equally stupid thing. 

Octavia finally recognized the significance of the phrase, “Life flashing before her eyes.” Somehow, she saw everything and nothing at once. Every memory, every person, every laugh, every tear, every breath she’s ever used for every word she’d ever uttered. It felt like drowning, like being reborn, like a million things plus another fifty. It felt like falling off that cliff, nearly drowning in the lake but this time there was no one to pull her out.

So she fell, and she watched, every decision, every thought, everything she’d ever done. And it hurt. More than anything she’d ever experienced. She saw herself change from a naive girl to a warrior to the champion and now the villain she’d sworn in another life to never to become. She watched him die, over and over and over. Saw a bullet fire. A body’s muffled thump to the ground. All Octavia wanted to do was scream. 

Then she felt it; the familiar ache of a headache (but so, so much worse), and the burst of adrenaline that came with each near-death experience. The ground spun up to meet her, or maybe she spun down to meet it, but whatever the case her pulse roared in her ears as she landed on the soft, green grass with an oomph. Wait a minute… grass? GRASS! Actual real-life grass! Octavia quickly attempted to sit up, noticing a small crowd around her and someone… running towards her??

Before Octavia could stumble to her feet, a man was by her side and pulling her back down, she quickly noticed his familiar messy golden blonde hair which created a stark contrast to the crisp outfit he sported. Huh, he looked like-

“No, no don’t try to move,” He muttered, a worried smile pressed on his face, interrupting her stream of thought, “They say the fall is always a bit tricky. SOMEONE FETCH CALLIE” he offered her as a way of explanation, even though it explained nothing and she was pretty sure the last part wasn’t directed at her, and with that, a sickly sweet feeling assaulted all her senses, picking them off one by one. 

She could taste it, smell it, feel it tingling along her skin, hear the chiming melody that reminded Octavia of the sweet lullabies she’s imagined to be Siren songs, and if she could hold her heavy eyelids open she was sure she’d see a billion colors exploding in front of her. But she couldn’t and soon she was stolen away by the heavy clutches of sleep, a dreamless rest washing over her for the first time in nearly seven years. The only thing left to assure her she was still alive being the heavy beating of her heart. 

_ “Do better,” came the little voice, “You can do better now.”  _ And for once Octavia didn’t silence it.

~~~~~

Octavia woke up in what was the softest bed she’d ever been in. A lot of firsts this week, she mused, as she blinked her eyes open. She frowned at the realization of the loss of her sword and cloak set in, the expression only setting deeper as she realized someone had changed her clothes for her.

But then she noticed. The pain, or physical at least, was gone. The irk in her shoulders, the stab wound that still stung occasionally even after all this time, the bruises from sparring, all of it, it was gone. 

“Hello!” came a cheery voice, a figure appearing out of thin air with a bright smile spread across her face. 

Octavia scrambled up, backing away from the girl as fast as she could. If it weren’t for the fact that she was struck completely speechless she would be screaming right about now, but instead; “Wings.” She choked out, her eyes wide as a doe’s. 

The girl, or fairy rather, frowned a little, before being hit with an onslaught of realization “Oh yes, those! Of course, you wouldn’t be used to them, my bad!” She giggled, cheerily as ever, before waving her hand causing the wings to disappear. This did not succeed in calming Octavia down because while she prided herself on being pretty unique, it was a common know fact that amongst most people seeing real-life magic left you in shock. Or it was common amongst the Land of Stories. 

“Alrighty, why don’t you sit back down and I can explain what’s happened? I’m Calliope, by the way, but most people just call me Callie. It’s a pleasure to meet you!” She talked a mile a minute as she skipped around the room, pulling open curtains and magic-ing things to perfection. “So, as you may have gathered, you’ve fallen into a new world. Surprise! You are in the Land of Stories, the Northern Kingdom to be more specific!”

Once Callie had managed to calm Octavia down enough so that she would comprehend her words, she began explaining. The book Octavia had found was a portal of sorts, it had been ages, literally a century, since it had last been used and so everyone was overjoyed to see her. The next hour was spent giving Octavia a crash course in fairytale politics, society, history, and everything in between. 

It was ... overwhelming, to say the least. All the more so when she had a dress and her sword (in its sheath and belt) chucked at her. 

“Come on! We have to present you in front of the Fairy Council and the four royal families, everyone’s quite curious as to who you are.” Callie told her, urging her along.

Once Octavia had dressed and Callie had fixed her hair (the joys of magic), they set down through the palace halls. It was the most beautiful thing she’s ever seen. Between intricate marble designs, arching roofs, stained glass, and golden accents, it was all breathtaking

Nor did the people pale in comparison. As soon as they stepped into the hall Octavia realized she was surrounded by supermodels. She was presented (having given her name and half her title earlier) and introductions were made. And with that, she launched into the explanation of her long tale, and if her breath hitched every time she mentioned lincoln, and she paused before every utter of Wonkru? Well, that was no one’s business but her own. 

~~~~~~ 

A few days later and Octavia was settling in. There was a royal wedding coming up apparently and it was fairly easy to find things to do. The magical populace was surprisingly forgiving of past crimes. The sense of normality and integration came to a striking halt however when she finally met the man of honor. The groom and the future prince.

It was Lincoln. He was here, he was alive. Before she could stop herself, she'd launched herself at him. , clutching onto him like a lifeline. Naturally, he held onto her to stop them both from falling but quickly let go once he'd regained his balance.

"I'm sorry, Ms, but who exactly are you?" He asked with an arched eyebrow, looking her over curiously. What a cruel twist of fate this was but how did she expect anything better? 

Octavia feels the last part of herself that she’s managed to hold onto fade away. The little part of her that she'd been rebuilding, the hope that she had was unceremoniously crushed. Roughly stumbling away from the confused man, she feels her brain racing too fast for her to keep up, her breathing patterns quickly becoming more erratic. She was finally home, sure she was in another dimension, but he was here and Lincoln was her home, he’d always been her home. But not anymore. They hated her, everyone she knew hated her or feared her or both, even her brother, even Bell, no, especially Bellamy, and now Lincoln did too. Or at least that was what she first thought. And he didn’t even know. She was a monster and he didn’t know that but he hated her anyways. Ho- why? She tried to take a deep breath but found she couldn’t, coming up to sputtering half uttered words. Then she realized. He didn't hate her, no, he simply didn't know her, and honestly Octavia didn't know what was worse. That was why the king looked so familiar, he was Jake, Jake Griffin. That why most of them did! Did this mean she was actually dead? And, could it be that Lincoln really did remember her? With that thought, Octavia turned and walked straight out of the courtyard, not so much as flinching until she'd turned the corner, leaving her legs to run on their own accord, barely even aware of the tears now tracking down her face. She’d done so well. Hid the thoughts for so long, but he was here What could she do if he was right here?

_ “You deserve it”  _ came the small voice, but no, this one was new. It was cold, and cruel, and sent shivers down her spine, mostly because it was right.

~~~~~~

Soon she founds herself in the grand room that she'd been sharing with Callie over the past few days and she collapsed onto her bed, the short bought of tears had long since dried but the weight of emptiness had only grown heavier. The door creaked open, and she quickly jumped to attention, hand resting on her sword, but when she noticed it was only Callie she collapsed back onto the bed without a word. “That was quite the scene,” she began, weightlessly approaching the bed, before perching on the end, “are you okay?” 

Octavia let out a bitter laugh, "Take a guess." She knew it was wrong to direct her anger at Callie but this was what she did. Whoever was closest got the burnt of her feelings.

Callie rolled her eyes before crawling onto the bed beside her, "Who would've guessed they were the same Lincoln. Well, not the same, but..." she trailed off, letting Octavia know that she understood. 

"What am I supposed to do? H-he doesn't even know me!" She finally broke after a moment of silence, not quite feeling but not completely void of emotion either. 

Callie gave her a soft, sad smile. "You have to move on." she said simply, "You loved Lincoln, he loved you, but that person is gone now. You've grieved and now, you keep the good things, but you keep moving forward." 

~~~~~~

Octavia tried. She really did. She took the words to heart, kept her new-made friendships and companionships dear. But she couldn't face him. Couldn't quite get rid of the ache in her chest. Couldn't go to the wedding even though she and the princess (a descendant of snow-white, a fact which Octavia found most amusing and that quickly confirmed her theory that this was some sort of weird parallel reality) had become fast friends. 

She saw the whole kingdom though, took a hundred trips over the months she's stayed. It was so... beautiful. Peaceful. It's all she wanted, for herself and Wonkru. She was almost excited to get back, to use what she'd learned. But even so, it hurt when she finally had to leave. It hurt not being able to say goodbye to Lincoln, who even though she'd only shared a few words with over her time there just knowing he was there was enough to make up for all the pain she'd felt. 

She hugged Callie one more time, book hugged tightly to her chest. "Yes! Yes, I promise, I'll visit when I can" she assured, although she wasn't sure how true those words were. She'd already been gone so long... what had happened to her people?

~~~~~~

The trip out was much easier than the trip in and as her feet met solid ground, Octavia was a little shocked by what she saw. And that was, well nothing. Nothing had changed since the moment she'd left. She peaked out the window and everyone was still there, mulling around the ruined Polis. Weird. They couldn't have survived without food all this time. Then she saw her brother.

"Bell!" She cried, running out of the house and throwing her arms around him. "I'm so, so sorry." Octavia blurted out, a small smile spreading onto her face as he hugged her back. Maybe Bellamy didn't hate her after all.

"What? I-, hold on what are you wearing? Why do you look so... different? O, what's going on?" Bellamy questioned his sister, utterly confused. They'd seen each other a grand total of an hour ago... what had brought all this on? And why did she look so happy?? 

Octavia gave him a devilish grin, "I found a book, it's my turn to tell you a story." She told him, "Come on, you're gonna love this! They can wait a little." She told him excitedly, noticing his line of vision straying to the bunker. 

Bellamy numbly let himself get pulled a long, what demon had possessed his sister?


End file.
